Damaras Were First

IT is shocking to hear that a parliamentarian, Katuutire Karura, proposed that the names of the towns in Namibia be changed to Herero names.

This is indeed shameful coming from a man belonging to a tribe that happened to migrate to Namibia only around 1400. The ancestors of the Herero and the Owambo, being related to each other, came to Namibia via Angola from the Central African and East Africa regions.On top of that, the Herero men sneaked into Namibia and stole the Damara women whom they forcfully kept as wives and brought up young Damara children as their own after ransacking the Damara villages when the Damara men were out on hunting expeditions.The Damara people were in Namibia when the other tribes arrived.They had names for their settlements and significant places such as the !Hob, now Waterberg Plateau.How can Kaura suggest the changing of the names of the places he mentioned to Herero? Does he know the reason for the naming of Swakopmund? It was named that because the Germans could not pronounce Tsoaxaub-ams.Does he know the meaning of !Usa!khos and #Garibeb? Before changing the names of these places, one needs to understand the meaning and the origin of the names and who gave these names to these areas and what roles these people played in the naming of these places.The names can rather be changed to #Nukhoe names as they are spelled wrong because people like Katuutire Kaura and others such as the Germans, cannot pronounce the clicks and the bending of the words.Will he be able to pronounce the word #Garibeb or !Usa!khos? The change of these names do have a number of implications.Firstly, it has a cultural implication.The Namibian national identity must be reflected by all Namibians and not only by the Hereros.The changing of names of towns must be a drive towards uniting and reconciling the Namibians.The spirit of oneness must be reflected in these names.All Namibians must identify themselves with the names of the towns …if they give Khorixas a Herero name, will the Damaras identify themselves with that? A name is what identifies a person or a place.It is only acceptable, loved and admired when it is spelled correctly and the only changes that such a motion should actually discuss are the correct spelling of the names, including the correct clicks.We should not be confused with what is happening in South Africa regarding the name changes of certain towns and cities to indigenous names.Indeed, many Herero and Owambo named villages and towns today that had Damara names originally.(No Name Provided) Damara Culture and Heritage ForumThe ancestors of the Herero and the Owambo, being related to each other, came to Namibia via Angola from the Central African and East Africa regions.On top of that, the Herero men sneaked into Namibia and stole the Damara women whom they forcfully kept as wives and brought up young Damara children as their own after ransacking the Damara villages when the Damara men were out on hunting expeditions.The Damara people were in Namibia when the other tribes arrived.They had names for their settlements and significant places such as the !Hob, now Waterberg Plateau.How can Kaura suggest the changing of the names of the places he mentioned to Herero? Does he know the reason for the naming of Swakopmund? It was named that because the Germans could not pronounce Tsoaxaub-ams.Does he know the meaning of !Usa!khos and #Garibeb? Before changing the names of these places, one needs to understand the meaning and the origin of the names and who gave these names to these areas and what roles these people played in the naming of these places.The names can rather be changed to #Nukhoe names as they are spelled wrong because people like Katuutire Kaura and others such as the Germans, cannot pronounce the clicks and the bending of the words.Will he be able to pronounce the word #Garibeb or !Usa!khos? The change of these names do have a number of implications.Firstly, it has a cultural implication.The Namibian national identity must be reflected by all Namibians and not only by the Hereros.The changing of names of towns must be a drive towards uniting and reconciling the Namibians.The spirit of oneness must be reflected in these names.All Namibians must identify themselves with the names of the towns …if they give Khorixas a Herero name, will the Damaras identify themselves with that? A name is what identifies a person or a place.It is only acceptable, loved and admired when it is spelled correctly and the only changes that such a motion should actually discuss are the correct spelling of the names, including the correct clicks.We should not be confused with what is happening in South Africa regarding the name changes of certain towns and cities to indigenous names.Indeed, many Herero and Owambo named villages and towns today that had Damara names originally.(No Name Provided) Damara Culture and Heritage Forum